Mavericks are dangerously drifting toward the NBA's worst place

The Dallas Mavericks' season hasn't gone according to plan whatsoever, but one constant theme that has prevailed in the post-Luka Doncic era is that this Mavericks team is going to fight hard night in and night out under head coach Jason Kidd. Amidst tons of injuries and inconsistencies in the lineup, Dallas is 11th in the West at 19-27, which is a precarious position to be in, as they could find themselves in a mediocre void this season.

Preferably, Dallas would be either bad enough to fall near the bottom of the West in hopes of bolstering their draft lottery chances or they'd be fighting for a playoff spot, but they currently aren't trending toward either of those outcomes. With it seeming increasingly unlikely the Mavericks will find a trade for Anthony Davis ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, it begs the question of where exactly this Mavericks team is trying to go this year.

Unless Dallas opts to trade off other key veterans such as Daniel Gafford, Klay Thompson, or Naji Marshall, they'll probably win enough games to fall no further than 12th in the West, even with Davis and Kyrie Irving out of the lineup for a few more weeks.

Mavericks need to pick a direction soon — must avoid middling territory

At the same time, though, it's hard to imagine Kidd can squeak anymore out of this injury-riddled roster than he already has, as it's hard to envision this rendition of the Mavericks surpassing the LA Clippers (2.5 GB) or Portland Trail Blazers (3.5 GB) in the standings to secure a spot in the Play-In Tournament.

While we are barely past the halfway point in the NBA regular season calendar, the Mavericks are going to need to pick a direction soon, as they are trending toward one of the worst possible outcomes as far as this season is concerned.

If the season ended today, Dallas would have the 10th-best shot at the No. 1 pick, and while the basketball gods could always bless them two seasons in a row, they might as well push for the play-in if this team continues to give them a fighting chance.

Either that, or Dallas falls off in their upcoming stretch and eventually deems Irving and Davis shouldn't come back this season, or only come back in a limited capacity, but Dallas' current position in the standings isn't doing them any favors. Hopefully, the Mavericks can continue to string together some more wins soon, or start dropping games instead, as continuing to play .500 basketball will make the decision on whether to bring Davis and Irving back or not a tough one.

By no means will the Dallas Mavericks be living in mediocrity forever, as the future of this team is very bright with Cooper Flagg, but Dallas needs to pick a direction with this season soon. They're better off bolstering their draft lottery odds if they can't compete for a playoff spot this year, and being in the middle of the pack hinders both of those possibilities, as teams like the Chicago Bulls have struggled to rebuild due to consistently being mediocre.

However, perhaps this isn't how Dallas' upper brass feels, considering the potential of Flagg, Davis, and Irving making a late-season run together, even if that possibility seems far-fetched for most fans.